St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-10-28
THE GREAT CRYPTOGRAM.
Ignatius Donnelly's Book on the Bacon
ian CIPHER About Ready.
INTERVIEW WITH THE SAGE.
His Book will Be Published Here and
in England Simultane-
ously.

Hon. IgnatiuS DOnnelly wrote his sig
nature on the register of the Merchants
hotel yesterday, having left his hard
work at Nininger for short visit to the
Sanity City. he talked freely of his
new book, The Great Cryptogram, in
which he explains the cipher that
proves to his mind that Bacon wrote the
plays usually charged up to William
Shakespeare. 81 have been working in
cesSantly at hOme," he said to GLOBE
man, land have had time for nothing
else, except to read the papers every
day. The book is now about seven
eighths in type and will probably be
ready for the public early in December.
l am going to England to secure copy
right there and shall probably arrive on
the 10th, about the day the book comes
out. 1t will not take more than ten
days to secure the necessary copyright,
though l shall probably stay for a
longer time than that. If l find the
country agrees with me | may spend
the winter there and possibly visit the
continent, though Ihaye not determined
that"
''YOur book will be published in both
countries?"
1T will. There will be four sets of
plates made, and two will be sent to
Europe, while two will be kept here.
The book will be neatly gotten up and
Will, think, be received with a great
deal of interest,"
do you think the press of the coun-
try has treated you fairly in its criti-
ciSms of your work?" asked the re-
porter.
'.As rule / have no reason to com
plain. Of course, there have been some
writers who have shown an ugly diSpO-
N ar-ffn q
gram, but they are, [ fancy, in most
cases, men who have themselves con-
tributed something to literature on the
subject of William Shakespeare, the
bard of Avon, ETC., and they naturally
have some feeling against work such
as mine will be. But as a rule | think [
am treated with tolerable fairness"
'What do you think will be the effect
OF the book. when it is in circulation and
becomes generally read?"
81 think it will prove to thinking, in
telligent men, just what claim-that
the plays in question were written by
Bacon. The cipher will prove that.
There is a growing tendency and will
ingnesS among all thinking men, law
yers, doctors and others to discuss the
authorship of these plays. The number
OF men who believe that Bacon was the
author was few, very few, fifty years
ago, and 100 years ago any one might as
we'll have said that the moon was made of
green cheese and he had piece of it as
to have set up any such claim. There
are some now who would not believe
even If one should rise from the dead,
but the number is gradually decreasing.
The common sense of the modern think
ing man tells him that it was impossible
for Shakespeare, who was noted for
r-rpnr nd CT lft,r Inn .rs,O
than anything else. to have written the
best works in literature. People
read the plays more now than they did
fifty years ago, and the more they are
read the more highly they are regarded.
They grow with time, and men are. to
say the least, wondering how poor,
drunken Will Shakespeare could have
written them. So great thing as to
substitute Bacon for Shakespeare can
not be done without time. And there
are not only preiudices, but pocketbooks
to overcome. There are in existence,
stored in publishing houses, whole
libraries of the editions of Shakespeare.
Ii Bacon wrote those plays and people
lions is deprecated"
SIS it the intention to publish the
plays under the authorship of Bacon?''
THAT cannot say, though presume
it will be done. From correspondence
l have had and from the talk in the En-
glish papers l am led to believe that
there is fully as great an interest in the
book in England as in this country"
Mr.. Donnelly smiled at the sugges-
ton that he was one of the best adver-
tised men in the world and said it was
so. II feel very grateful to the press
for all this" said he. at shows that
the public is interested in the ques-
tiOn.'